Taking Life Like It Is
by lostluv
Summary: Lexie left Seattle with a little more than her luggage. Almost 1.5 years later, she returns for the love of family and creates heartbreak for the man that once broke her heart.
1. A Reason To Go Back

This is the last thing that I need to be doing right now but I finished catching up on Grey's and the episode "Push" made me cry with Lexie crying on the floor because she heard Mark was moving on with Teddy of all people. So this is my first (main) Slexie story and hope you like it.

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After a long day of surgeries, all Lexie Grey wanted to do was collapse onto her couch with a frozen pizza watching medical videos. She knew from the start of that amazing plan though that it would never happen in a million years. Instead, she took the elevator up to the 10th floor and as soon as she stepped off the elevator, she heard the shrieks and screams coming from down the hall. She went to the second door on the left and pushed it open setting herself into a room painted in bright colors with toys scattered around. She was filling the sign out sheet so she could scoop her baby into her arms and head home. She smiled politely at the woman sitting behind the desk and she went around the corner towards the back where children were sleeping on mats. She saw her baby just lying there and she scooped him up into her arms where he stirred just a little, but instead of waking he returned to his peaceful slumber. She walked out the day care door, hit the elevator button and stepped inside, grateful to find herself alone in peace. She took the time to look at her peaceful son. His beautiful blonde hair was messy from sleeping on the mats at day care and his little hands were formed into fists. The best part about him though was his eyes, though she couldn't see them at the moment since he was sleeping. Every time she looked into her son's eyes, she saw his father in him right away. Lexie had known right from when he was born, there was no mistake that Jacob Marcus Sloan was Mark Sloan's child.

She had never meant to keep Jake from his father, but it was just the way things happened. She had found out that she was pregnant about 2 months after their breakup and as she ran down the hallway towards his office, her positive stick in her pocket , thoughts were floating around her head. She was excited for this baby, excited to be a mother, but more excited at the fact that there was a chance that she could be back with Mark now. She was about to walk through the office door when she heard a familiar voice laugh and a baby's cry ring out. So instead of going, she peered in the window through the blinds and her mouth dropped at what she saw. There was Mark sitting at his desk with his grandson Riley in his arms and sitting on the desk was Teddy Altman, the woman that Lexie hated. She saw from the window them laughing together as the baby did something funny and Lexie just had to turn away, tears rolling down her face in both frustration and sadness. This is when she realized she had to get away and fast before any found out. She went to Derek and asked for a transfer to another hospital telling him that she wanted to explore other options. He gave her a sympathetic look knowing this somehow had to do with Mark and right then and there, he granted the transfer to John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Meredith had been shocked when she heard Lexie was leaving and she went right to her sister for an explanation. In a weak moment, Lexie had let it all out and when she was done telling her, Meredith urged Lexie to tell the truth. Lexie wouldn't hear it though and she swore Meredith to secrecy before leaving 1 week later for her new home. As she had left, Lexie wished that one day Meredith would let it spill to Mark that Lexie moved because she was having his baby and he would find her like in a fairy tale, but that had never happened.

She had gotten into her apartment safe and after putting Jake into his crib, she had sat down on the couch with another frozen meal watching medical tapes just like she had every night since she moved here. She had never dated anyone in Baltimore because her heart still lived in Seattle with the man that had crushed her. After watching a couple of surgeries, she got up to go to bed passing the table on the way that had the phone set on it. She went backwards after seeing the blinking light and the familiar voice of Derek Shepherd filled the room. "Hey Lex, just wanted to tell you to look at your e-mail when you get this message. It's important!" Lexie would have left it for the morning, but when Derek said it was important, she walked over to the laptop sitting on the kitchen table and signed into her e-mail address. She clicked on the message from Derek and immediately on her screen was a picture of a tiny baby. Underneath the picture was a message:

_Derek and Meredith Shepherd are proud to announce the birth of their baby girl _

_Emma Caroline Shepherd _

_Born May 26__th__, 2011_

_7 pounds, 3 ounces, 19.5 inches _

_Lexie was so excited that she forgot all about sleeping and immediately called her sister even though it was almost 11:30 pm, but Lexie knew from experience that her sister would be up staring at her daughter for that first special night. Her sister picked up on the first ring and in an excited yet tired tone, Lexie said "Hey Mer. Congrats on Emma!" Meredith responded back in an equal tone saying "Hey Lex! She's wonderful and it's only the first day, but I don't think that I love anything more right now in this world." Lexie said "I know the feeling," and the sisters talked awhile until it was almost 12:30 am and Lexie heard the faint sound on the baby monitor of Jake starting to cry. She was about to say goodbye to Mer, but she heard her sister to hold on and the next moment, she heard the voice of Derek. "Hey Der, congrats on the baby! She's beautiful," said Lexie. Derek said "Thanks Lex, but do you think that I could ask you a huge favor?" Lex said "Yeah, anything of course." "I need to go away on business in 2 weeks and I hate leaving Mer alone with the baby. We talked about it and there's no way I can't go since I am representing the hospital, so I was wondering if you could come to stay here for a couple of days," said Derek. Lexie started to hesitate, but Derek said "You owe me one," and Lexie knew the deal was done. She owed Derek so much for giving her the transfer and it looked like it was time to return the favor. She agreed and by the end of the phone call, she had plans to return home. _

_Lexie laid awake all night, thinking about Seattle and the problems she now faced. She couldn't leave Jake here in Maryland, but the possibility of her seeing Mark was very high. She knew he would not only be around the hospital if she stopped by to say hello to her old friends, but that he would most likely be around the Shepherd house since it was his best friend's son and also his godson. When Lexie had learned her and Mark were godparents to little Emma, she just shook it off, but now she realized that they were joined in another way. The main problem though was keeping Jake away from Mark and she finally came to a conclusion hours later that it might just be time for Jake to meet his father. _


	2. AN Cheat Sheet

Alright so the new chapter will already be up by tomorrow and I want to see the response I get before I continue after that. Here is a basic timeline of what you need to know for the story. I will keep updating every time another major event happens.

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February 2010- Mark and Lexie break up

March 2010- Mark and Teddy started dating

April 2010- Riley Jonathan Sloan, Mark's grandson is born

April 28th, 2010- Lexie finds out she is 2 months pregnant

May 10th, 2010- Lexie leaves for John Hopkins in Baltimore

August 27th, 2010- Jacob Marcus Sloan is born prematurely

September 2010- Meredith finds out she's pregnant

March 3rd, 2011- Emma Caroline Shepherd is born

March 16th, 2011- Lexie and Jake go back to Seattle


	3. It's Only Just Begun

A long flight filled with Jake screaming from the pain of his ears popping and the scolding she got from the flight attendants and people sitting around her about "how she should control her own child," Lexie had already had enough. She had called Derek when she had arrived, and after managing to get her bags and maneuver the baby stroller in the crowded airport, she was just happy to see her brother-in-law standing there with arms wide open and a dopey smile on his face. He embraced Lexie and said "Nice to see you." He then picked up Jake swinging him around in the air while the little blonde boy's giggles filled the air, and Lexie shook her head in awe about how Jake could be like this now and a mere 45 minutes ago when they were landing, he was screaming his head off. Derek gave her back Jake and put the bags and stroller in the backseat while Lexie set Jake into his cars eat. They started towards the house and the adults made small talk while Jake babbled from the back. As Lexie looked over towards Derek, she saw his face on how the smile hadn't left his face since they had first seen him. From being around the hospital, Lexie knew it was the new dad smile and wondered if Mark would have been the same way.

_She was downstairs in a trauma when the pain kicked in and she knew something was wrong. It was a different type of pain from the kicks her baby had given her and she excused herself to head towards the locker room. Sitting in a chair, she counted the minutes that went by in between each pain and she knew from there that these were contractions. It was too early and that's all she thought about. When the pain had subsided, she waddled towards the elevator making her way up to the 6th__ floor and walked to the Nurse's Station, cringing once in awhile to grab a handrail tightly just to get through the pain. She walked to the desk, stating her information and when the nurse asked if she could contact anybody, Lexie just turned her head, tears welling in her eyes as she whispered a barely audible "no." _

_She was stroking his head ever so gently as the tears ran down her face, scared of what was to happen in the future. In front of her, under the tubes and oxygen mask was her little boy who had been born 4 hours ago. He was 3 months premature and very tiny being only 2 lbs., 7 oz., and the worst part was that Lexie wasn't even allowed to hold him. She had been in the NICU for hours and a nurse named Lydia came up to her. "Ms. Grey, have you decided on a name yet?" Lexie had been thinking for hours and knew the name was perfect. "Jacob. Jacob Marcus Sloan," she said. With that, she stroked the baby's head one last time and asked to be brought back to her room. _

_It was late and Jacob was now 10 hours old. She had been brought the birth certificate and had filled it out. At the space for father, Lexie had hesitated almost leaving it blank, but she knew the decision would haunt her, so she quickly filled in the name Mark William Sloan. The nurse took the certificate and Lexie's hormones kicked in with tears running down her face. She picked up the phone beside her and dialed his number in the moment of weakness, but hearing his voice on the other end was too much and before he heard her sobs, she hung up and vowed to forget the number and never call again. _

They arrived at the house and Derek took the bags while Lexie picked up the car seat from the back, seeing that Jake was out cold with his head resting towards the side and the expression that Lexie had seen so many times when she had laid next to _him _in bed during the night or in the on-call room during the day. She sighed and followed Derek in the house where Meredith had grown up. Once inside the house, Meredith appeared from inside the kitchen, a tiny baby with dark curly hair resting in the crook of her arms. Her smiled matched Derek's and she stepped forward, giving her sister a hug that even surprised Lexie. She felt Meredith shift the baby into her arms, and Lexie looked down to see a little girl with Meredith's nose, and Derek's hair. "She's adorable, Mer. Gorgeous with the McDreamy hair I can see." Mer giggled like a school child and the sound of a soft cry made Lexie's head turn. She saw the flailing arms from Jake's carrier and gave baby Emma back to Meredith, ready to pick up her own baby and cuddle him. She picked him up and carried him over to show her sister. Meredith's mouth dropped when she saw Jake and she said "Shit Lex! Did you put anything into that child?" Lexie sighed and shifted Jake towards her hip, staring at her sister unable to answer the question because even she knew that every time she saw Jacob, it was like looking at a mini-Mark.

She'd caught up with Mer and had avoided the question all through dinner and after she'd put Jake in a portable crib upstairs, Lexie went to the bathroom to shower. She let the hot water go down her body and she sat down in the tub, unaware of each moment that passed. She didn't realize that the water had turned cold and that hours had passed until the sound of a knock on the door brought her attention back to reality. She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and she dried herself off with a towel before emerging from the bathroom door in a towel, and went back to her room where she dressed into her pajamas, careful not to wake up her sleeping baby, but it happened anyway. He woke up, crying for a bottle and Lexie picked him up, making sure his diaper was clean first. She carried him down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, using the formula to make a bottle and heating it up in the bottle warmer that was set on the counter. After testing the bottle on the back of her wrist, she took the baby and bottle towards the living room where she settled into a chair and fed her baby boy. She watched as he sucked the nipple, and the volume of formula went down each time. She was so intent on watching Jake that she didn't hear the front door open, and all of a sudden, she heard the familiar voice of a man who had crushed her heart. He walked into the living room and he froze in place, no words escaping from his mouth as his gaze shifted from her to the peaceful baby sleeping in her arms. Lexie sighed and knew from the moment that she saw his face that he knew and she knew it was going to be a long night.

**Read and Review. I must get 5+ reviews in order to publish. Thanks ;) **


	4. Escaping Just This Time

_She was so intent on watching Jake that she didn't hear the front door open, and all of a sudden, she heard the familiar voice of a man who had crushed her heart. He walked into the living room and he froze in place, no words escaping from his mouth as his gaze shifted from her to the peaceful baby sleeping in her arms. Lexie sighed and knew from the moment that she saw his face that he knew and she knew it was going to be a long night._

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Lexie shook with Jake in her arm, trembling at the sight of the man that she would always love. He was staring at what seemed to be her until she realized that he was looking at the baby that laid in her arms and she panicked. What if he knew? Lexie held her breath watching as Mark's mouth opened, but no words escaped until she broke the silence. " Hi Mark." He didn't return the words and they just stared in silence, no emotions on either face until the sound of somebody pounding down the stairs brought their attention towards the foyer. In emerged Derek and he froze, staring between the two and nobody moved until Lexie moved suddenly towards the stairs, brushing past Mark. She held Jake tightly so that Mark couldn't realize what Jake was.

_7 days, 3 hours, and 49 minutes had passed since Jacob was born, and Lexie was wishing he would get better. She had been discharged when her baby was 4 days old, and being wheeled to the taxi that awaited for her, empty-handed was devastating. She couldn't stay away and instead of being home, she was "living" in an on-call room on her floor, and she was visiting her baby every few hours, spending as much time as she could with him. Her co-workers left her alone and didn't say much, but in the cafeteria, she heard the whispers and lies that were being spread. She wanted to jump on the table and scream the truth, but all she could think about was her little boy. After he had been evaluated by Dr. Logan, the neonatal specialist, Lexie had heard of all the problems her boy faced. Besides being just skin and bones, he had severely underdeveloped lungs which required him to have a ventilator and jaundice which would require some phototherapy. Those were the problems that could be seen, and who knew the underlying problems that Jacob would face. She was waiting for him to open his eyes, praying that they would be the same slate blue eyes as his father. She was about to walk away to catch up on sleep when Jake began to squirm wildly, and Lexie was afraid that he would tear his IV out. She looked around seeing if somebody would come help, but she saw nobody in sight. It was all up to her for her as a mother to provide for her son. She put her hands through his incubator and stroked his head trying to calm him down, but it was useless. Lexie tried a different approach then. "Hey buddy. I'm your mommy and I know you hate that tube, but it's going to make you feel better." She saw Jake settling down so she continued to talk. " You know, you may be little, but you look so much like your daddy. You have his ears and chin and god, I pray that you have your daddy's eyes so I can stare at them each and every day, just to see a piece of Mark." With that, her son settled completely and cocked his head to the side. Lexie smiled and then gasped. Jacob William Sloan opened his eyes to reveal the prayer that she was asking for; the same stone blue eyes of Mark Sloan_.

Lexie sat in her room, curled in a fetal position watching her son's chest go up and down as he slept peacefully next to her, her tears splashing onto the sheets beneath her. How could she be so stupid? She knew he would be around since he lived in Seattle and that his best friend had just had a baby, but the shock of seeing him on her first night back and with Jake laying in her arms was just too much. Her gentle boy stirred next to her, and Lexie wiped her tears, picking him up and putting him in the portable crib next to her bed. She climbed back into bed, holding the covers tight, needing something to protect her.

Nightmares invaded her sleep and she lay awake for hours, feeding Jake once during the night because her screams had awakened him. Laying there at 7 am, Lexie got up to take a shower and when she returned 15 minutes later, she saw her baby boy laying there and smiling, biting on his little teething ring. Lexie threw on some jeans and a Harvard sweatshirt, and then went to tackling the difficult job of changing Jake. He had started rolling over about 2 weeks ago, and he thought it was a game as Lexie struggled to keep him still as she dressed him. She changed his diaper swiftly and he kicked as she first put on his onesie, followed by some jeans and a sweatshirt with a baseball on it that Derek had sent her for Jake. Lexie picked him up and opened her door, hearing the sound of a microwave beeping, forks clattering and a baby crying. Lexie sighed and got ready to face the day.


	5. AN Things You Need to Know

Dear Readers,

Just telling you some things:

-That with this episode of Grey's Anatomy that is coming up, if Sloan keeps her baby I will be changing the name to the name that she picks. If she doesn't keep him, in my story she will and his named will stay Riley Jonathan Sloan.

- I need at minimum of 5 reviews per chapter to go on

- I love suggestions so in the read and review section, leave comments!

- Meredith still lives in her childhood home while the dream home on Derek's land is being built

- Lexie and Jake's life will eventually be featured in flashback chapters

- Jake's journey in the NICU will be based on my sister's own experience

- The whereabouts of other characters will be mentioned in an upcoming chapter

- I may not stick to the Grey's Anatomy Storyline

- I want to emphasize that I do not own any characters (except Jake, Emma and Riley) or the television show

- Ask any questions!

Thanks everyone. Read, Review and Suggest!

--Jordyn (lostluv)


	6. AN Again!

A/N

I have not forgotten about this story or any of my others. My computer crashed for good and I needed to buy a new one, so all the chapters I had been writing are now gone which I almost cried about. I started writing again today and so a new chapter should be up by tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.

Sorry about the wait, but continue reading and reviewing J


	7. Lending a Hand

**Sorry for the long absence. I was stuck on ideas for the longest time and almost gave up on this story, but I was bored one day and just started writing on ideas and I realized exactly what I wanted to do with it. I am working 5 days a week for the summer, so updates will be slow but just remember that I am not giving up on this story now that I have some new inspiration**

**BTW- The chapters may be a bit shorter than expected, but most will have cliffhanger endings of some sort. In a few chapters, it will skip ahead a period of time. Also, I keep messing up Jake and Mark's name. Their full names are Mark Dylan Sloan and Jacob Dylan Sloan. In some chapters, I refer to them as Jacob William and Mark William which is incorrect. Please ignore it.**

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As she descended the stairs with Jake in her arms, all she could think about was the other night when she had run from the man she loved in fear that he would recognize her secret. Instead of running what she had wanted to do was confess her secret, and plant a kiss on him that she had desired for over a year now, but instead she had run, like a coward to her safe place: her room. She heard the cries of Emma from the kitchen and the cursing of Meredith as she heard something shatter on the floor.

"Mer, is everything ok? Lexie crept into the kitchen slowly as she didn't see her sister in sight until she rounded the corner and there she saw shattered pieces of a plate on the floor, a bottle of milk overturned on the table, and a crying Meredith standing in the corner of the kitchen with a red-faced baby in hand. Lexie quickly deposited Jake into a high chair, and overtook the kitchen disaster.

"What happened," Lexie asked as she took the broom from the pantry and began to sweep the broken pieces into the dustpan while also keeping in eye on her weeping sister.

"It all just came crashing down. I was trying to feed Emma and myself and I failed and the phone rang and my arm knocked into Em's bottle and my plate and…and….and I'm just a big failure who can't even calm down her own baby without the help of her McDreamy husband," sobbed Meredith.

Lexie came up to her and took the crying Emma into her arms, gently bouncing the newborn in her arms until her face returned to the pale color it was suppose to be. Lexie continued to bounce the baby and turned to look at her own son who was trying to feed himself his own bottle which resulted in milk going down his face. She turned to give Emma back to her sister, but turned to empty air beside her.

"Mer, where are you?, " she called and she walked around to the stair where she called her sister's name. With her sister not in sight, she climbed the stairs about halfway and she heard the sound of the shower going and decided to let her sister be. Climbing gently down the stairs, she walked into the kitchen just to find her son from head to toe in milk. She laughed to herself as she began to strip the clothes off her son and filled the kitchen sink with warm water.

She was sitting on a blanket on the floor with Emma in her hands and Jake propped up on a boppy-pillow playing with a stuffed bear that Derek had given him. She was smiling at her son, watching as he concentrated hard on the bear in front of him as he studied it. Such the professor like his father, never wanting to give up on one thing until he had solved its purpose.

"So, I see you got her to calm down," said Meredith. The voice scared Lexie and she jumped slightly, and she looked down to make sure the peaceful sleeping newborn was still asleep before looking at her big sister. Meredith's hair was still slightly damp, but tied back in a ponytail, and the sweatpants and baggy t-shirt she wore made her figure look smaller than it was. The dark bags under her eyes indicated that she hadn't slept in days to come, and the to Lexie, she looked like a lost little kid.

The kids had gone down for their naps and Lexie brought a cup of tea to Meredith who was laying on the couch staring out the window.

"Drink the tea, it will help. I promise," said Lexie. Meredith took the cup, with no expression on her face and turned back towards the window, staring as the leftover snow fell from the trees. Lexie saw the pain in her eyes and could only imagine what her poor sister was thinking.

"I thought I could handle it," said Meredith in almost a whisper. "I told Derek to go to that conference and I wanted to prove to him that I could handle it. I wanted…..wanted to prove to him that I was not my mother. That I was a person better than her and that I would love my daughter to all, and the second Derek leaves, it all came crashing down."

"No. You're not li-.," said Lexie.

"Don't say I'm not like HER. I am exactly who she is. Do you get it? It is in my blood. I will never and can never be a good mother to my daughter. Someone else will always need to do it for me," exclaimed Meredith.

"NO. You listen to me! You are not like her. You are better than her. You love your daughter more than your job, more than the world. You were the one that proudly ran to Derek to tell him you were pregnant. You were the one who told me how excited you were and how much you wanted this baby. You were the one who spent time picking out nursery colors and cribs and clothes and all that stuff for your little girl. And you were the one who took care of her for 9 months; those 9 months when she depended on only you for support. She loves you and I know that you love her from infinity and beyond.," said Lexie.

"Did you just quote Buzz Lightyear?," said Meredith.

"Yeah," said Lexie. "I saw it on tv last weekend and me and Jake watched it together and I don't know but that saying just stuck in my head."

"OMG! I can't believe that my sister just quoted a children's movie," said Meredith as she laughed on the floor.

"Oh, c'mon, give me props for creativity, sis," laughed Lexie. They laughed on the floor together until the distinct cry of Emma filled the room from the baby monitor. Meredith got up and headed towards the stairs.

Lexie watched as her sister went up the stairs, and when Meredith turned around, she couldn't help but feel confused.

"Go! You're fine, she's waiting for you," said Lexie.

"Thanks for it all. I mean…just never mind.," said Meredith.

Lexie watched her sister go up the stairs and disappear from sight. Mer's voice filled the room from the baby monitor and as Lexie listened to her sister talk to Emma, she couldn't help but smile to herself.


	8. Maybe It's About Time

Once again readers, I am so sorry for the hiatus. I was working 5 days a week and weekends were spent with family. Now that work is over and school doesn't start for about 3 weeks, I have some time that I would love to use to write instead of laying lazily home. So here is the next installment of _Taking Life Like It Is_.

PS: I am now writing in the point of view from a character to give you a better understanding of how they are feeling. **This chapter is Lexie's point of view**.

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It had officially been 6 days since Jake and I had landed in Seattle and things were just amazing with me being back home. The best part of it was I was bonding with the sister who I thought would never accept me for who I was. The day when I had first arrived at Seattle Grace and saw the look of horror on Mer's face when I told her she was my sister was just one of those days that I had wished for the longest time had never happened. Now I realized that me coming to Seattle Grace and intruding on her life had been one of the best choices of my life.

It was late Tuesday afternoon and I was absolutely loving the times I had with my family…... _my family. _Something I had been dreaming about for the longest time since the feeling of emptiness had overcame me after my mom died. The family I had known forever had fallen apart in front of my eyes. My father returned to his alcohol and became a person unrecognizable to me, but someone so familiar to Meredith. Molly, the sister who I use to play dolls and spy on the boys across the street with had moved with her husband and daughter to Australia where her husband's family lived and I was lucky to get a phone call once a month. I now had my other sister in my life, her husband, my niece and the son who I once thought had been a mistake.

I heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening while I was sitting in the kitchen, eating my lunch that had long been put off due to Jake's insistent crying. I got up to see who it was and was shocked to say the least as I saw my brother-in-law Derek bringing his luggage in the door.

"Oh my go-….," I began to exclaim loudly until Derek put his hand to his lips to signal me to quiet down.

"Shhhh," he said. "I'm trying to surprise Meredith, ok?"

I nodded quickly saw as her snuck up the stairs and within seconds, I heard the screams of my definitely surprised sister. I went back to the kitchen to finish my now stone cold soup and I heard from the baby monitor sitting on the counter the exchange of kisses and I miss you's between my sister and her husband. It was as I heard Derek pick up Emma and talking to her and Meredith when I could mentally picture the three of them sitting on the bed, cuddled with each other when I began to cry and think of how this could be me if I had made a different decision. I could be the one sitting on a bed, holding Jake awaiting for my husband to come home from work, a conference, wherever. All that mattered would we would be a family and my ever after would come true.

Hours later and the cover of night had fallen around the house and I was sitting in my bedroom, finishing the end of my book when the slight knock on the door diverted my attention.

"Come in," I called gently, careful not to wake my sleeping son in the pac-n-play next to me.

I was surprised when Derek walked in and I sat up, putting my leg pretzel style, giving my brother-in-law room to sit on the edge of the bed. He sat down and looked at me and by the look on his face, I knew whatever he was going to say was big. He looked at me with his bright eyes and began.

"Lexie, I know the last year and a half has been rough on you and it hasn't been easy especially with Jake, but I wanted to talk to you about something big. I was talking with Mark the night before my trip and our conversation landed on you and more importantly Jake. He was drunk at Joe's and he began to ramble on and on about wanting "him" and when I asked who, he didn't respond but as I was sitting on the airplane for my conference, I pieced it all together."

Derek sighed and began again. " I figured out he was talking about Jake and what he was saying even shocked me. He was saying about how much he wanted him as his own son and that would be the glue to your's and his relationship and I got thinking. Lexie, I have never said anything to you about the way you have been keeping this secret from Mark, but from what he professed to me one week ago, I think it would be in his best interest to know. You two don't need to commit to anything, but I think it would be good for him to let him know."

The tears began to fall down Lexie's face and she began to choke out the words "I know…."

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Next Chapter- The big reveal is coming when Lexie reveals to Mark that Jake is his son and wonder how Mark is going to take the news? Come back later this week to read the newest chapter of _Taking Life Like It Is._


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